Lucia Barba: Woman on a Mission
by TribalVipe
Summary: Lucia sees it, but they don't. So...she does something about it. Barson One-Shot.


A/N: As you may have guessed, I hold a special place in my heart for Lucia Barba. I love playing with her character! In any case, this has been sitting on my computer, half written, so I'm glad I got the burst of inspiration to finish it off today. I love jealous Liv. I don't see it as an emotion she usually has, so it's fun writing it. Enjoy!

* * *

Lucia Barba was a woman on a mission.

An evil smirk, one passed down by the women in her family for generations, split her lips as she stared at her son from across the street. He stood on the courthouse steps, talking heatedly with that woman, Olivia was her name, one hand holding a coffee and the other gripping his brief case.

The two had been talking (or arguing probably) for a little over five minutes now and it seemed as if they were beginning to settle now. How she could tell?

Body language.

When they first approached each other, they were tensed and ready to tangle with words. The Lieutenant threw her hands out in the air dramatically and leaned forward, her voice raising enough that she could barely hear it over the mid-morning traffic zooming down the street. Her son stood his ground, but he looked at her like she was crazy and had no problem mouthing off back to her. Both were drawing attention from those around but she suspected they didn't notice.

But now? They stood inches from each other, both calmed down and talking with rational heads. They even laughed a little, the woman reaching out to squeeze her son's arm as she turned to leave. Lucia watched as her son watched Olivia walk away, a small smile on his face as he sipped his coffee. Eventually, he turned and raced up the steps to the court house to get back to work.

She hadn't been standing there long. She met him for coffee, reminding him about Tía Maria's birthday party that weekend and practically begging him to accompany her and Manuel, her boyfriend. She just happened to catch sight of Olivia, who called out to him angrily, and that's what made her stop and stare at the scene that unfolded before her.

Lucia was no fool. The way her Rafael went on about the woman was enough of a sign for her to know this cop was an important part of his life. Hell, probably a top priority the way he looked at her. But Lucia, despite not knowing Olivia all that well, knew her son wasn't just another nicely dressed lawyer to her, too.

Right down to the way the Lieutenant inched closer to him after they'd calmed down, she could tell those two had eyes for each other.

Lucia _knew._

Intuition, maybe?

Whatever it was, it was strong and it was forcing a little idea into her head that wasn't exactly great but wasn't exactly bad either. In fact, it was crazy enough that it might work the way she was thinking it would.

Really, what would be the harm in playing a little trick on her unsuspecting, love-struck son? It seemed to her that the two were awkwardly dancing around each other and she could tell just from five minutes of voyeurism, that the two had _eyes_ for each other.

Lucia wondered what it was like to be around the two all the time when they were like that. He often mentioned other names of detectives. Her subordinates that seemed to be nothing more than background characters to the two of them. She wondered if they noticed like she had and if they did, how they could stand watching the two of them?

Hmm…

Lucia pulled out her cell phone and scrolled through the contacts, landing on the name of a fellow colleague who owed her a favor or two. She decided now was the perfect time to cash it in and luckily, it just so happened to be the woman's day off…

 **Later that day…**

Liv weaved her ways through the halls of the court house, not exactly happy to be in the building for the third time that day but that was the job. She'd been by early that morning when she dropped off a few case files Barba had left in her office the night before and then just a few hours later, had a full out argument with him just outside of the building. Of course, the situation was diffused just minutes later because she couldn't stay mad at him when he was making sense and he knew that.

In any case, the fact that she was there for third time to meet with him and her detectives so they could prep wasn't that great, but seeing him again lessened that feeling. As much as she wanted to throttle him sometimes, she just couldn't help the feeling of complete calm that swept over her when he was near.

God, that was corny.

But she was a woman with feelings for a man she wasn't entirely sure had feelings for her. Sure, he acted is if he was a dorky 15-year-old with a crush sometimes, but those were in private moments shared just between her and him. Not having an outside perspective was difficult but she was positive that even if she did, she wouldn't seek that opinion anyhow.

Liv rounded the corner of the hall and immediately noticed her detectives huddled in a group straight across from Barba, who was talking into his phone and flipping through a stack of papers like a mad man.

"Ready for two hours of listening to Barba yell at us?"

The sarcastic comment from Carisi made her smile and she glanced at the ADA, who's brow was furrowed as he listed off some information on the page he was currently looking at. She'd already had Barba yelling at her that morning, but she supposed she could put up with a bit more of it. Besides, the likelihood of him yelling at her again in the presence of her detectives was slim. He always tended to pick on Carisi the most during these prep meetings, but that was only because he enjoyed the hell out of making him squirm.

"I'm sure you all are," she responded and pulled out her phone, remembering to silence it after checking for any missed calls or texts. This case was important. It was a big one, too. Three raped, two dead and a skittish witness…yeah, this one was big and it was proving to be tough.

"You ever notice how he only really yells at us but not you?"

Carisi winked at her and Liv just stared at him, not wanting to give away the fact that she had already realized that a while ago. Leave it to Carisi to make an awkward observation, though, because she was left with her detectives all giving her an odd look; it was almost as if they were waiting for her to say something they'd all been waiting to hear for quite some time.

The sudden thought that they might know about her extremely obvious affection towards the stoic and hard-shelled exterior lawyer made her head spin, but she just brushed off their looks and checked the time on her phone. Anything she could do to draw herself out of that conversation (because they would bring it up until she snapped and spilled), she would do.

Just as she was about to announce the time, a soft tap on her shoulder caught her attention and she turned, looking down at a woman a good four inches shorter than her. The only thing she had time to notice was the mass of beautiful brown, curled hair and perfectly white teeth..

"Excuse me," the pretty brunette smiled, "I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Ah, no, no…did you need some help?"

Her first thought was that this woman was a victim who maybe recognized her by appearance. It had happened before…people on the street approaching her and asking for assistance just because they recognized her from the news. She'd had plenty of exposure during high profile cases, cementing her name as a go to source for sex crimes.

But, looking at the smaller woman, she didn't seem to be seeking that. She was dressed in an immaculate business suit that could give Rita Calhoun a run for her money, and that was saying something.

"I was looking for a Mr. Rafael Barba? I stopped by his office but he wasn't there. Catherine Vasquez, nice to meet you," she smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Liv was a bit surprised, letting it show on her face as she trailed her eyes over Barba, who was now texting angrily away on his phone, unaware of his surroundings. Liv greeted her politely, shaking her hand as she nodded towards the man.

"He's right there, but- "

"Thanks!"

Liv puffed her chest out, biting down her reaction to the rude way the woman blew her off. Liv took the opportunity to watch her as the woman's hips swayed tantalizingly towards the ADA.

She was definitely beautiful, with big blue eyes, pouty lips smeared with red lipstick and brown, curly locks cascading down her back. Liv averted her scrutinizing gaze as she noticed the outrageous amount of cleavage peeking out through her blazer and just how petite the woman really was. By all accounts, she was drop dead gorgeous.

Way too gorgeous…

Liv felt the uncontrollable urge to follow her, but managed to keep that under wrap as Amanda started showing pictures of Jesse. She turned her back, not wanting to watch the ADA fawn over this woman, who was obviously infatuated with him, while she stood just a few feet away.

However, the moment Liv turned, Rafael looked up, a small smile gracing his features as he saw that she finally joined her squad. It fell quickly, noticing a woman smiling and calling out to him, forcing his attention away from Liv. He knitted his brows together as she drew closer, that familiar annoyed expression gracing his features, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. Liv took satisfaction in seeing it and being able to recognize it.

"Can I help you?"

"Mr. Barba," she smiled, hand out for a handshake which he accepted, "Catherine Vasquez. I just thought I'd personally introduce myself. I'm new here and trying my best to get to know everyone."

"Oh, nice to meet you. Now if you'll- "

"I'm very envious of the way you handle yourself in court. I've sat in on a few of the trials you've prosecuted…you really know what you're doing," she blocked his path a little, sticking a curvy hip out and making sure he had a good view of her cleavage.

Rafael bit back an irritated sigh, not wanting to come off as rude and scare away the new ADA, because if that got back to his boss, he'd be in even more worse than he was now. So, he nodded politely and thanked her. He did his best to give her most of his attention, but he couldn't help but take in Liv's smiling face as she swiped through Amanda's pictures, proudly displaying the detective's growing daughter.

"I know you must be very busy, but," she reached out and placed a hand on his arm, "I was wondering if maybe later we could step out for a drink? Get to know each other? I know this little place just a block from my apartment. They make great martini's."

Oh.

Uh.

Liv chose that moment to glance behind her and she almost choked on a breath leaving her chest. Her eyes widened and her lips split open, her shoulders tensing and hand tightening in a death grip on Amanda's phone. She must have caught her squad's attention, because they had grown quiet, their gazes following hers.

"Oh shit," Fin said quietly, amusement lacing his words. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Amanda elbow his side as she let go of the woman's phone, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. Barba took a little step back, looking completely uncomfortable under the affectionate gaze the woman was scrutinizing him with.

It only took one pleading look from him that sent her over, leaving her squad with a confident stride and coming to stand in front of the two, inspecting the woman's teasing grip slipping slowly down Barba's arm with obvious distaste. That couldn't be helped.

"Rafael," she caught his attention, his name feeling weird but good rolling off her tongue, "I don't mean to interrupt but the meeting…"

"Could you give us a moment, please? We were having a conversation."

The perturbed tone to the woman's voice did nothing but bring a small smirk to her lips, her arms lacing again under her chest as she popped a hip out. She felt Barba's eyes drop to her body at the move, quickly moving away and it sent an exhilarating feeling shooting through body. He hadn't once looked at this woman like that…not in the few minutes they'd been talking and that was saying something.

"Do you two know each other?"

Barba shook his head, still trying to subtly shake the woman off his arm. She had a strong grip, imposing on him a feeling he wouldn't have once had before when face-to-face with a pretty woman. He looked a bit desperate at Liv, trying to get her to help, but instead she stood there with her arms crossed and a predatory smile on her face.

The kind of smile she usually presented to a suspect who was being particularly unruly in interrogation. It was surprising to see, because usually the woman was so good about which mask she presented to the world outside. Especially towards people who weren't victims. Often, she was seen as nothing more than a cop with a job to do and nothing else.

"No…I was just saying that I'd like to get to know him better, though. Are you two friends?"

"Yes," he said quickly, skirting past her to stand next to Liv, effectively blocking the woman from touching him again. He had to admit, she was beautiful and had this been a few years ago, he would have jumped at the opportunity to take her out, but things were different and his feelings were already taken.

"Well," Liv ignored the question and pulled her phone from her pocket, whistling at the time and waving the screen towards him, "We have to get going. Prep and all of that, you know the drill. It was lovely to meet you, bye."

Before the woman could say another word, Liv pulled Barba away, feeling on edge the farther away they walked. She glanced behind her, seeing this Vasquez turn on her heel in a huff, sauntering down the hallway and capturing the attention of both Carisi and Fin as she did so.

"That was weird. I'm going to have to see which unit she's working with so I don't run into her again."

Liv nodded absently, shoving her hands into her pockets the farther they walked down the hall, towards the elevators. They stopped near a different window, Barba asking her if she was ok, noticing her tensed stance.

"Did she ask you out? On a date?"

Barba scoffed, "More like subtly propositioned me."

She chuckled shortly at his exasperation, unable to shake the feeling like that her time had officially run out. If this was ever going to go anywhere, these ever-evolving emotions she felt towards him, then it was time to act.

Just a few minutes ago she was cursing this sudden appearance of this Catherine lady, but now she was silently thanking the big man in the sky for her showing up and spooking the hell out of Rafael Barba.

"Well…it's a good thing you didn't accept," she rubbed her hands together nervously, afraid as he raised an eyebrow at her, tilting his head with soft eyes he only really used when he was looking at her. She knew, because she saw them when he sent those long looks in court, connecting with her while he destroyed scumbags who thought they were smarter than he.

"Why is that?"

Liv mentally prepared herself, thinking back to all those turned down drink offers he'd been giving her lately. She felt a twinge of guilt, knowing she'd gone home and sat on her couch, lonely and sipping on some wine, arriving home well after Noah was already asleep.

Well…no longer.

"Maybe…you could offer to buy me a drink…and I'll actually accept this time?"

Barba's lips lifted into a small smirk and he nodded, turning on his heel with flourish as his answer to that question. Liv watched him until he turned down the hall, waving for her and the rest to follow him. Seeing the extra pep in his step, she knew she would have the same feeling all the way back to the precinct later. The woman smiled and followed him, not bothering to capture the attention of her squad, that were laughing at some dumb story Fin was retelling from one of their past cases.

From down the hall, Catherine Vasquez watched the scene unfold. She quickly dialed a familiar phone number and wasn't left waiting as the call connected on the second ring.

"It's done."

Lucia Barba smiled triumphantly from her outside table at a cafe, slipping her phone back into her pocket and shifting the sunglasses down over her eyes, a smirk on her face while she sipped her coffee.

Maybe it wasn't any of her business, and she definitely used Catherine's looks to enhance the situation, but it was a push that needed to happen from the outside, otherwise it never would have happened.

But, that feeling would soon past when she spent the next few weeks, listening to her son gush (he wouldn't ever admit to doing that) about the woman she had a hand in setting him up with.

Mission accomplished.


End file.
